After the Storm
by hollybridgetpeppermint
Summary: Small oneshot exploring a missing scene from TBA. 'After a particularly bitter day of verbal duels and bloodletting, he sat and stroked my hair until I fell asleep.' Basically just RH fluffy goodness.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Holmes or Russell, but I love 'em! (grin) Doesn't everybody?**

**A/N: Okay, so this is my first fic in this fandom. (What do you guys call the collective series, by the way?) I have read the first three books and I'm in the middle of _The Moor_ right now. So anywho, when I read TBA, I was struck by the fun little fluff-hints. Soooo…this is what came out of one of these—a fun little fluffy fic! It's an exploration of the scene she briefly mentions, during the part where they're on the boat pretending to hate each other. She says he 'stroked my hair until I fell asleep'. Anywho…enjoy, everyone!**

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"Oh, shut your mouth, idiot!" With this parting shot (uncreative, perhaps, but I was at my wits' end), I slammed into my room and threw myself onto the bed. I spent a moment or two breathing deeply, trying to shake off my character, but to no avail. I was still angry—not at Holmes, but at everything in general. I wanted to cry, or scream, or go into hysterics, or…something.

I buried my face in the pillow, stifling my growl of frustration. I could, of course, have let them hear it—it would only have increased the act—but I was afraid someone would come in, and I _couldn't_ deal with that right now.

After some time, I was still angry. I was just about to get up and see if everyone had gone to bed, so that I could take a walk and perhaps squash the fury I felt, when I heard two taps at the door. I groaned, and my head fell back onto the bed again.

"Not now, Holmes!" I called quietly. I didn't want to face him right now. I wasn't sure why.

The door opened anyway. I looked up and glared at him.

"Go _away!_"

"Goodness, Russell. Have you forgotten what two knocks mean?" He sounded so calm. Infuriating man.

"No, I have not forgotten! Just…leave!" I said through clenched teeth.

"Russell." His voice was quiet and gentle.

I pushed away most of the shame, but I couldn't help a little of it getting through. "Please?" I asked, and then cursed myself. I hadn't meant to sound so helpless.

He ignored me, of course. Kneeling down beside the bed, he looked at me with compassion in his eyes. Drat the man! I didn't want compassion now. If he noticed my frustration, though, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he said softly, "What's the matter?"

That settled it. Abruptly, my anger melted away, and I was left with sorrow and shame. I put my head down again, fighting tears. One spilled out anyway, and I was glad he couldn't see it. "I hate this," I said, my voice muffled and low. "I hate this. I hate all of it. I hate having to pretend to argue with you, and this entire case, and I hate coming up with stupid sarcastic comments to scream at you, and…" The volume of my tirade was building. "…and being stuck on this ship, and…and I hate the people who are doing this to us!" I stopped, suddenly at a loss for what else to say.

After a moment of silence, I felt something tentatively touch my head. Somewhat surprised, I realized it was his hand. Slowly, his fingers made their way down my blonde, disarrayed hair. Then they moved back to the top and started again. His gentle touch relaxed me, and I took deep breaths again, this time able to calm down a little from my semi-hysterical state.

"I know, Russell," he said after a while. "I know. I hate it too."

I nodded a little, just enough to let him know I'd heard, not enough to make him stop stroking my hair.

We stayed that way for a long time. Several times, I thought of something to say, but I always decided I could say it later. After a while, I closed my eyes, exhausted.

"Holmes?" I asked sleepily.

"What?" His hands didn't stop their journey across my head, for which I was thankful.

"Good night."

I heard the smile in his voice. "Good night, Russell."

A few minutes later, I felt myself slipping off into sleep.

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A/N: Ahh, sweet fluff! (grin) Gotta love it! And these two are so cute together!**

**Anywho…review please! I want to know if I did the characterizations right. I've written fics in other fandoms (Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, Circle of Magic, Mairelon the Magician) but I haven't ventured into this one yet. Well, not until now, anyway. Sooo…yup!**

**Hope to be back for more soon!**

**BANZAI!!!**

**hollybridgetpeppermint**

**(Edit: On rereading, I've decided this isn't my best work ever, not by any means. I may be able to figure out how to fix it later, but if not, I suggest you read one of my other fics to get a better idea of what I really sound like when I write… Hopefully you've read one of those other books. Sorry for the inconvenience.)**


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